By Anne Craig, Communications Officer

Nominated alongside six other world-leading communities, Kingston had a strong showing at the recent Intelligent Community Forum held in New York City. After placing in the top seven out of over 400 applicants, the Limestone City competed for the title of Intelligent Community of the Year against Columbus, Ohio, Arlington County, Virginia, Hsinchu City, Taiwan, New Taipei City, Taiwan, Toronto and Winnipeg.

Innovation drivers such as the High Performance Computing Virtual Laboratory, Innovation Park at Queen’s, GreenCentre Canada and the leadership of the city in launching Sustainable Kingston were all featured in the application.

“Queen’s and Kingston both benefit tremendously from one another, and that relationship is reflected in the Intelligent Community application,” says Principal Daniel Woolf. “To see Kingston do so well and be recognized on the world stage is extremely gratifying for everyone involved.”

Nominated communities were judged according to their potential in the broadband economy, considering categories such as digital inclusion, knowledge workforce and innovation. This year’s theme, Community as Canvas, placed special focus on the communities’ cultural output.

The city was also cited for its high number of green- and clean-tech businesses, several of which have developed from Queen’s research. The organization also recognized Kingston’s reliable Internet infrastructure and strong local culture.

“I’m very pleased Kingston made it to the Top seven out of more than 400 applicants,” says Kingston Mayor Mark Gerretsen. “Making it this far in the competition speaks volumes about quality of life in the city. Our commitment to technology also makes us an attractive place to do business.”

Although Kingston didn’t finish in the top spot – that honour went to Toronto – the experience provided a valuable opportunity to showcase Queen’s and Kingston to the world.

“The summit was a great opportunity to network and share ideas with the other nominees as well as past winners,” says Steven Liss, Vice-Principal (Research), who was in New York City representing Queen's and also participating in a panel on brain drain. “We connected to people with excellent global perspectives on innovation and Kingston and Queen’s will be able to benefit from these success stories. Placing in the top seven was a positive experience for Queen’s – and for Kingston.”

The title is awarded by the Intelligent Community Forum, a New York-based think tank that studies the economic and social development of modern communities.